Education Service Updates
Council of College
and Military
Educators
Robert M. Worley II
Director, Education Service
Veterans Benefits Administration
MyVA Transformation
Make Veterans want to be our customer
Improving the Veteran
Experience
Objectives
Improving the Employee
Experience
Improving Internal
Support Services
Establishing a Culture of
Continuous Improvement
Enhancing Strategic
Partnerships
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Overview
•
Trainee and Dollars Paid FY 2011 - 2015
•
Claims Processing Highlights
•
Long Term Solution Updates
•
Education Call Center
•
Compliance Activity
•
Compliance and Liaison Activity
•
Compliance Survey Update – Flight Schools
•
GI Bill Comparison Tool
•
GI Bill Feedback System
•
Veteran Outcome Measures
•
PL 113-146 – Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014
o Section 701
o Section 702
•
Sunset of REAP
•
Mitigating Circumstances
•
Enforcement Challenges
•
Legislation Introduced in the 114th Congress
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FY 2011 – FY 2015 Trainees/Dollars Paid
Benefit
Education Programs
Chapter
30
Montgomery GI Bill
(MGIB)-AD
Chapter
32
Veterans Educational
Assistance Program
(VEAP)
*Chapter
33
FY 11 Trainees
Dollars Paid
FY 12 Trainees
Dollars Paid
FY 13 Trainees
Dollars Paid
FY 14 Trainees
Dollars Paid
FY 15 Trainees
Dollars Paid
185,220 / $1.4B
118,549 / $932M
99,755 / $775M
77,389 / $512M
61,403 / $455.7M
112 / $1.3M
76 / $682K
29 / $496K
8 / $359K
4 / $35K
Post-9/11 GI Bill
555,329 / $7.7B
646,302 / $8.5B
754,229 / $10.2B
790,408 / $10.8B
790,507 / $11.2B
Chapter
35
Survivors’ and
Dependents’ Educational
Assistance Program (DEA)
90,657 / $463M
87,707 / $455M
89,160 / $483M
90,789 / $514M
91,755 / $493.2M
Chapter
1606
Montgomery GI Bill
Selected Reserve (MGIBSR)
65,216 / $201M
60,393 / $157M
62,656 / $156M
63,745/ $150M
63,030 / $141.1M
Chapter
1607
Reserve Educational
Assistance Program
(REAP)
27,302 / $95M
19,774 / $77M
17, 297 / $70M
13,784/ $56M
9,965 / $40.5M
Veterans Retraining
Assistance Program
(VRAP)
N/A
12,251 / $6.1M
67,918 / $428M
52,288 / $413M
N/A
923,836 / $9.8B
945,052 / $10.1B
1,091,044 / $12.1B
1,088,411 / $12.4B
1,016,664 / $12.3B
Total
Note: Dollars may not add due to rounding
As of February 9, 2016, VA issued $60.4 billion in Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit
payments to 1,546,594 individuals since program inception (August 2009). 4
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Claims Processing Highlights
FYTD
Claims Inventory
FY13
FY14
Claims Processed
4.5M
4.3M
4.2M
1.4M
Original Claims Timeliness
(Average Days to Complete)
26.2
16.7
18.4
18.3
Supplemental Claims Timeliness
(Average Days to Complete)
9.7
5.9
7.0
7.4
Payment Accuracy
98.7%
98.7%
99.4%
99.1%
FY15
through
January 2016
Claims Processed
Original
Supplemental
December 2015
24,089
310,812
January 2016
25,383
357,524
*Data represents all EDU claims
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Long Term Solution (chapter 33 only) – Supplemental Automation
Summary
Automation Summary
FY13
FY14
FY15
FYTD
2016
Total Claims Automated
2,325,037
2,573,279
2,554,493
555,277
Total Claims Fully Automated
1,236,210
1,524,570
1,562,828
314,924
Total Claims Partially
Automated
1,088,827
1,048,709
991,665
240,353
*Total Claims Manually
Processed
471,736
458,052
446,089
89,451
% Claims Fully Automated
44.2%
50.3%
52.1%
48.8%
% Claims Partially Automated
38.9%
34.6%
33%
37.3%
*Excludes paper claims
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Education Call Center (ECC)
• My VA – Call Center Initiative
• New ECC Software (Unified Desktop) Implemented
• ECC Successes
– Answered 769,000 calls so far in FY16
– 46 new hires in FY16
– Moving toward the goal of providing with one-call resolution
• J.D. Power Independent Customer Service Agreement
– J. D. Power scores for ECC are consistently among the highest
of all VA’s Call Centers
– Overall satisfaction score for December 2015 – 852
• Exceeds government benchmark of 721
• Exceeds service industry benchmark of 815
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Compliance Activity
Survey Data through FY15
VA Completed
2,352
SAA Completed
2,983
Total Surveys Completed FY 2015
5,335
FY16 guidance includes:
• Continue to use SECVA's authority to waive the requirement
for an annual compliance survey based on an institution's
demonstrated record of compliance
• Emphasize for-profit and non-accredited schools
• Revisit public institutions of higher learning with flight
programs
• Visit all newly approved institutions
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Compliance and Liaison Activity
• Reassigned 30 FTE from Operations for compliance work
•
ELRs and ECSSs participated in a National Training Conference from
September 22-24, 2015, with special emphasis on the following goals
at all four RPOs:
o Providing more consistent information to schools
o Promoting consistency in compliance surveys
•
A revised School Certifying Official (SCO) Handbook was published on
September 18, 2015.
o Revised prior credit policy – SCOs should not withhold
certification if a transcript cannot be obtained
o Does not remove the requirement to evaluate prior credit
o Clarified the policy for repeating courses
o Added information on Executive Order 13607, Principles of
Excellence, CareerScope© , GI Bill® Feedback System, GI
Bill® Comparison Tool, and GI Bill® Trademark Terms of Use
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Compliance Survey Update – Flight Schools
VA conducted surveys at 108 institutions of higher learning (IHLs) with contracted
flight programs between April 6, 2015, and May 11, 2015. Some of our initial
findings are as follows:
o 60 schools had no adverse findings.
o 10 schools had programs that were in violation of the 85/15% requirements.
The programs in question will remain suspended for the enrollment of new
students until they are in compliance with 85/15% requirements.
o 8 schools were identified to have been providing inaccurate certification
regarding the actual begin and/or end dates of the flight training being taken
as part of the degree program.
o 40 schools were certifying flight hours to VA for payment in excess of the
number of hours required for successful completion of the course, and/or
the schools had no clear designation for the number of flight hours required.
o 3 schools were contracting with a flight facility that was not
approved/approvable for payment of VA benefits.
o Different flight equipment is being used for different students in the conduct
of the same program of education at a different and usually higher cost.
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Compliance Survey Update – Flight Schools (con’t)
•
Advisory dated September 1, 2015, on specification of required hours.
o IHLs must have documented in their catalog, or approval package, the required
number of training hours that a student must complete in order to fulfill the
course’s educational objectives and all mandatory fees (e.g., cost-per-hour of
training) that an enrolled student will be charged for the training.
o Each IHL was required to amend its program approval documentation or catalogs
to reflect the above requirements within 60 days of the date of issuance of the
Compliance and Liaison Advisory.
•
Advisory dated December 4, 2015, on approvability of programs with private pilot
training.
o Programs at institutions that contract for flight training services through a standalone (vocational) flight facility are not approvable
o Schools must bring flight training “in-house” or revise program curriculum to
remove private pilot training by August 1, 2016.
•
Webinars were held on September 17 and December 14 to articulate the guidance and
the legal and regulatory foundations for this guidance.
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GI Bill Comparison Tool
Comparison Tool was launched on February 4, 2014, in response to Executive Order
13607 to implement and promote “Principles of Excellence.” As of February 9, it had
over 2,239,437 unique page views to over 1 million users.
Recently added functionality:
On





November 11, 2015, VA released a complete redesign of the Comparison Tool featuring:
School profile page
Student outcome measures
Enhanced search and print functionality
Mobile/tablet compatibility
Caution flag for schools:
o Settlement with U.S. Government - EDMC
o Heightened cash monitoring
o Accreditation probation
o DoD probation for military tuition assistance
o FTC suit- DeVry Institute
o Department of Education notice of intent- DeVry Institute
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GI Bill Comparison Tool (con’t)
Future releases will include:
 Enhanced Data Service
 More Caution Flag Information
 School Certifying Official Contact Information
 Detailed Accreditation Information
 Major/Program type
 Feedback rating
 Risk Index
https://www.vets.gov/gi-bill-comparison-tool
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GI Bill Feedback System
•
On January 30, 2014, VA launched the Feedback System to intake
student complaints concerning non-compliant POE schools
•
Total complaints as of January 31, 2016: 5,383.
Of these:
– POE complaints: 3,629 (67%)
•
•
•
Pending: 50 (1%)
Active: 363 (10%)
Closed: 3,216 (89%)
– Non-POE complaints: 1,754 (33%)
•
Risk-based reviews conducted as of January 31, 2016: 79
•
GI Bill Feedback System Observations:
– 8 withdrawals
–
–
–
–
Communication ̶ Issues between school staff and students
Financial issues – Timeliness of certification submission
Transfer of credits – General lack of understanding by students
Refund issues – Administration with multiple types of financial aid
(Title IV & VA)
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GI Bill Feedback System (con’t)
Complaints by Issue (Jan. 2016)
Post-Graduation Job Opportunities
400
Release of Transcripts
289
Transfer of Credits
526
Student Loans
662
Change of Program
375
Grade Policy
355
Accreditation
553
Recruiting/Marketing Practices
666
Refund Issues
576
Quality of Education
1056
Other
1003
Financial Issues (e.g. Tuition/Fee
Charges)
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Veteran Outcome Measures
Executive Order 13607
• VA is required to develop and publish outcome measures, which will support Veterans,
Servicemembers, and their family members in making the most informed educational
decisions
• VA, ED, and DoD have been working in collaboration over the past three years to develop,
define, and publish outcome measures that will provide information on available
educational programs
Outcome measures progress:
• November 25, 2014 – Missive to schools and other key stakeholders
• December 3, 2014 – School Certifying Official webinar
• December 23-24, 2014 – VA sent the data to the schools
• September 14, 2015 – VA extracted updated dataset to publish
• September 29, 2015 - Outcome measures published on the GI Bill Website
Outcome measures published by VA:
• Retention Rate
• Persistence Rate
• Transfer-Out Rate
• Graduation Rate
• Certificate Completion Rate
http://www.benefits.va.gov/GIBILL/Outcomes.asp
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Section 701 - Extends eligibility for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits under Fry Scholarship to
the spouses of active duty Servicemembers who died in the line of duty
Section 701 – Progress
October 20, 2014 – Section 701 eligibility expansion was announced via VA press release
October 22, 2014 – Deputy Under Secretary for Economic Opportunity sent e-mail
announcing this expanded benefit; began promoting via social media; posted fact sheet to
GI Bill website and Choice Act website
October 23, 2014 – VA Form 22-5490 (Dependents’ Application for VA Education Benefits)
published on VA’s internet site
November 3, 2014 – RPOs began accepting applications
November 5, 2014 – Mailed over 6,800 letters to potential beneficiaries
February 5, 2016– RPOs have received 1,822 applications, with 944 certificates of
eligibility to spouses issued and 878 disallowances.
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Section 702 Progress
• Currently, all 50 states, the
District of Columbia, and 5
territories/commonwealths
(AS, GU, MP, PR, VI) are
fully compliant with section
702.
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Section 702 Funding
•
Education Service will utilize $8M in reprogrammed funding for system updates to:
o Implement legislative requirements directed by the Choice Act (e.g. allow VA to
disapprove institutions that charge Veterans out-of-state rate)
o
Improve security and systems integration to enhance the user’s experience, provide
flexibility and capability to report and capture program-level information
o
Improve business analytics and reporting capabilities to understand various
drivers of performance, their relationship to future outcomes, and improve
decision-making for key stakeholders
o
Systems impacted include:
• Benefits Delivery Network (BDN)
• Electronic Certification Automated Processing (ECAP)
• Long Term Solution (LTS)
• Veterans Online Certification of Enrollment System (VA-ONCE)
• Veterans Online Application Direct Connect System (VONAPP-VDC)
• Web-Enabled Approval Management System (WEAMS)
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Section 702 Funding
•
VACAA Transition
o
VACAA project management contractors: have been awarded and are currently
on-boarding.
o
Conducted training on WEAMS and VA-ONCE systems for the new VACAA
contractors.
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•
The NDAA for 2016 ended REAP on November 25, 2015, for new school enrollments. Due to Congressional
mandate, VA can only grant REAP eligibility to those enrolled in school on November 24, 2015, or during
their school’s last term, quarter, or semester ending prior to that date.
•
This change affects beneficiaries differently:
o Current REAP beneficiaries -- Veterans who were attending an educational institution on November
24, 2015, or during the last semester, quarter, or term ending prior to that date, are eligible to continue
to receive REAP benefits until November 25, 2019.
o REAP beneficiaries not attending school -- Veterans who applied for REAP but were not attending an
educational institution on November 24, 2015, or during the last semester, quarter, or term ending
prior to that date are no longer eligible to receive REAP benefits.
 Many of these Veterans may be eligible to receive benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
o New REAP applicants – Veterans who have not enrolled in school and applied for REAP benefits prior
to November 25, 2015, are no longer eligible for REAP benefits. However, in most cases, those Veterans
will be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
•
VA notified those affected Veterans who have previously applied for VA benefits of this change and
their potential eligibility for other VA educational assistance programs.
o There are approximately 6,500 beneficiaries with service dates on or after August 1, 2011, who did not
have any prior service. Same-period service rules apply to anyone with services dates on or after August
11, 2011, which may impact eligibility for another education program.
o 3,500 beneficiaries were enrolled in school on November 24, 2015.
There is a provision in NDAA that prohibits an individual from receiving unemployment insurance while
receiving Post-9/11 education assistance. Department of Labor has the lead on implementation
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•
Mitigating circumstances are unanticipated or unavoidable events
beyond a beneficiary’s control that lead to the withdrawal from, or
failure to complete, one or more classes with non-punitive grades
•
If a student drops a course or withdraws from school after the drop/add
period and receives a non-punitive grade, VA may reduce benefits
effective the first day of the term unless the student provides evidence of
“mitigating circumstances”
̶ Situations beyond the student's control that prevent the student
from continuing in school or that cause the student to reduce
credits
̶ Examples: Death in his or her immediate family, personal health
reasons, unforeseen change in work obligation
•
If a student drops hours and does not provide acceptable mitigating
circumstances, instead of reducing last day of attendance, VA will
reduce/terminate beginning of the term
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•
Please help us help students understand that when a student
drops/terminates, he or she may receive a request for mitigating
circumstances from VA
̶ If not received/accepted, the overpayment will be much more
substantial than if submitted
•
The most effective way for students to provide mitigating circumstances
is to submit them to their School Certifying Official, along with
notification of the dropped course(s)
•
Report the drop and note the mitigating circumstances in “Standard
Remarks” via VA-ONCE, enabling VA to review the mitigating
circumstances and reduce/terminate the benefits in one action
̶ Long Term Solution Release 6.5.0 - Now includes functionality
allowing for the proper processing of mitigating circumstances
̶ Implemented November 2015
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o For-Profit Task Force
o Forum for federal agency communication and coordination
o Congressional Interest
o University of Phoenix – DoD Action
o Education Management Corporation (EDMC) DOJ settlement
o DeVry Institute – FTC Suit
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H.R. 3016, the “Veterans Employment, Education, and Healthcare
Improvement Act”:
o Bill passed by the House on February 9, 2016
o Modifies benefits transferred to family member under the Post
9/11 GI Bill
o Clarifies eligibility for the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David
Fry Scholarship
o Recodifies and improves benefit election process
o Caps certain flight training and other programs of education
o Codifies SAA role in determining “deemed approved”
o Amends compliance survey criteria
o Requires VA to provide info on Veteran entitlement to schools
o Centralized reporting of enrollments by certain groups,
districts, and consortiums
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o Clarifies definition of covered individual from Choice Act
o Modifies characterization of certain service for Reservists so
time spent receiving medical care is creditable
o Restores expired authority for certain work study activities
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Contact Us
WEBSITE: www.benefits.va.gov/gibill
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/gibillEducation
TELEPHONE: 1-888-GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551)
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Number of beneficiaries enrolled in school before November 25, 2015
111,858
Number of beneficiaries who received a certificate of eligibility on or before
November 24, 2015
142,321
Number of beneficiaries who were not enrolled in school on November 24,
2015, but have not exhausted their REAP benefits
30,463
Number of beneficiaries enrolled on November 24, 2015
Number of beneficiaries with service dates prior to August 1, 2011
Number of beneficiaries with service dates on or after August 1, 2011, and did
not have any prior service
benefits.va.gov/gibill
3,578
124,669
6,580
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